Alaul Alam :
The second wave of the Covid-19 is impacting lives and livelihoods significantly. It is apparent that compared to the infection rate and fatalities caused by the first wave, the second wave turns out more devastation. The dramatic surge of infection along with the deceased has fallen the country into great health crisis. Though last year the big cities in the country were found the worst affected, this time urban and rural areas in the same vein are enduring the havoc due to the rapid surge of infection of the deadly virus.
This is obviously a double blow for the people when amidst the Covid health crisis dengue fear is creeping in. According to different sources, with the onset of rainy season the infection rate of dengue fever has risen. By the time a significant number of people in the cities have been infected with a mosquito-borne viral fever. Sources say that the emergence of dengue fever is likely to add more crisis in the health sector.
Though almost 100 patients have been diagnosed in Dhaka by the time, no infection has yet been reported outside of Dhaka city. It is true that the situation seems not out of control but if let this go on, undoubtedly will be drastic and the humanity will fall into great despondency being unable to face many crisis at the same time. Similarly, to endure a heavy burden, the country’s health system may deteriorate. According to experts, unless concerted efforts are taken to destroy breeding sources of the Ades mosquitos, the situation may be tough to control.
It is evident that for some years dengue fever has been infecting the city dwellers noticeably. Reports reveal that in 2018 approximately more than 10 thousand people were infected with the mosquito-borne viral fever, of whom around 93 unfortunate people faced fatalities. Things get tougher in 2019 as the infection rate rose dramatically. It is estimated that 101,354 dengue cases and 179 deaths were recorded in Bangladesh in 2019 whereas in 2020 this fever claimed 93 lives.
It is no denial that the country’s health sector is passing a very tough time to combat the unprecedented Covid crisis. During this fresh surge of the Covid-19, hospitals in the cities and towns are over flooded with corona patients. Many are found struggling to ensure emergency health facilities in the government hospitals.
Contrarily, private hospitals are booming as the cost of medical services is many times higher there. The poor and middle class hardly have any access to receive treatment in the private hospitals and clinics. But more often many middle class people are found to receive treatment in the private hospitals finding no alternatives to seek medical support in the government hospitals that make them financially more vulnerable.
In 2019 a study conducted jointly by ICDDR,B and BRAC’s James P Grant School of Public Health revealed that 68.9 percent of the country’s citizens found it hard to bear their medical bills. The report also stated that, due to the absence of quality public healthcare services for critical diseases like cancer, kidney diseases, heart complications and brain diseases, in most cases, people go to private hospitals for treatment on their own finance. Many economists claim that the lives of many can be overburdened in many cases due to insufficient income generation and bearing the cost of medical treatment in the country.
However, it is obvious that dengue epidemic may loom large that may add a very sorry state during the medical coverage of the Covid-19 in the country as this sector is struggling to contain the health crisis. It must be tougher for the concerned to address more woes caused by dengue fever. So, we hardly see any alternatives to act wisely to address the looming dengue fear. In this regard, we see no alternatives to ensure cleanliness around our dwelling places apart from taking urgent steps by the authorities concerned to destroy breeding sources of the Ades mosquitos.
(Alaul Alam teaches at Prime University. He is also research scholar at the IBS. Email: [email protected])
